From the majestic Mediterranean cypress ( Cupressus sempervirons ) of mailing-card Italy to the 2,624 - year - previous bald cypress ( Taxodium distichum ) along the Black River in North Carolina , cypress tree trees are as divers as they are numerous .
With up to 125 dissimilar coinage , include both Old World and New World potpourri , cypress is grow around the domain in lovesome temperate realm . All are evergreen conifers , with one elision : the bald-pated cypress .
The name " cypress " itself comes from Greek and can mean " warm , " " adaptable " and " muscular . "
The History of Cypress Trees
To understand the history of cypress tree , go back to the days before the Earth split apart to an era known as Pangaea . The split gave parturition to a new variety of cypress tree , let in sequoia and redwood , accord to researchers at the National Academy of Sciences and reported byLive Science .
The northern subdivision of the split , dwell of North America , Greenland , much of Europe and parts of Asia were designated Laurasia , while the southerly part of the split , South America , Africa , India , Antarctica and Australia , became Gondwana . Members of the Cupressaceae crime syndicate survived in Laurasia , while Callitroideae was find in Gondwana .
Fast forward through history to when cypress evolved in ancient Greece , Persia and Egypt . It is believed that the tree diagram grew in this Mediterranean basin but was enrapture by the Etruscans to what is know today as Tuscany , Italy , where they graced paintings and became a symbol of the sphere .
The Leyland Cypress
The Leyland cypress ( x Hesperotropsis leylandii ) , which is ideal for tumid landscape gardening projects , creates a perfect natural fencing when planted in a row . Growing well in USDA hardiness zones 6a to 10a , it can reach up to 50 pes in top . Not unmanageable to please , this cypress tree has little taste in soils and thrives in a damp mood .
A hybrid of seeds from cones of an Alaskan cedar tree ( Callitropsis nootkatensis ) and fertilized by a Monterey cypress ( Cupressus macrocarpa ) , the Leyland cypress was found in Wales , U.K. Cuttings were brought to California in 1941 .
Arizona Cypress
With its gloomy - green foliage , Arizona cypress tree ( Hesperocyparis arizonica ) makes a natural Christmas tree diagram . It ’s the only native - acquire cypress tree in the Southwestern United States .
in the first place from Mexico ’s DoI , Arizona cypress tree was discovered in the 1880s . It has thick , sinewy , coarsely shedding , gray - brown barque and dull gray - green needle with no resinous exudations .
Another related species of this tree , smooth Arizona cypress ( Hesperocyparis glabra ) , has smooth bark that exfoliate in papery layers of purple to crimson and bright blue - unripened needles with resin glands , according to theArbor Day Foundation . The Arizona cypress tree grows in force in USDA hardiness zona 7 to 9 .
Monterey Cypress
resist alone on the windswept promontory of the Monterey peninsula , the Monterey cypress tree ( Hesperocyparis macrocarpa ) ornament postcards and photo albums as the symbolisation of the Central Coast of California , the only locating in which it grows .
A native of Monterey Bay , California , and a inhabitant of USDA hardiness zones 7 to 11 , the Monterey cypress tree prefers salt air and has a high-pitched wind tolerance . The Lone Cypress , which is the name of the peninsula ’s renown tree , is one of only two native stands .
Bald Cypress
Perhaps the most fascinating and historically significant cypress Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is the denuded cypress ( Taxodium distichum ) . aboriginal to the Southeastern United States , the years - previous trees of the swampy Black River stand in North Carolina have been dated back to over 2,600 year ago .
They are sort out as the oldest - know wetland tree diagram species , the oldest living tree diagram in eastern North America , and the fifth oldest known non - clonal tree diagram species on Earth . They are hardy to USDA zone 4 , according toIOP Science .
Unlike other evergreen cypress smorgasbord , the bald cypress is deciduous and sheds its leave in the fall . It has " human knee , " knobs that form on the trunk of the tree above the water line , but their purpose is as yet not scientifically defined . The bald cypress is akin to a conditions web in that it predicts and records rain and has the strong clime signaling on earth , writesSmithsonian Magazine .
